With her first cinematic feature, renowned Brazilian theater actor, director, and writer Grace Passô announces herself as a compelling new voice, attuned to the delicate emotional undertones beneath everyday life. Premiering at the 76th Berlinale’s Perspectives section, Our Secret explores the weight of what goes unsaid in a family after a devastating loss and listens for the ghosts that linger in a house shared by generations. In conversation with Lidanoir, Passô talks about the personal and creative origins of the project, the challenges of moving her play from stage to the screen, and the special role of the location for her story.

Following the neuropsychological dread of Relic and the occult paranoia of Apartment 7A, Natalie Erika James’ latest feature continues her exploration of the emotional fallout of social pressure and painful family histories. Brutal beauty standards and toxic diet culture literally threaten to consume the young protagonist of Saccharine which premiered in Sundance’s Midnight section before running at Berlinale’s Special section. On site in the busy Berlinale Palace, the Japanese-Australian filmmaker talks about the personal origins of the story, the devastating social impact of rigid physical standards, and the elaborate special effects langue shaping the symbolic scares.

Seine Dokumentarfilme laufen regelmäßig auf internationalen Film Festivals und brachten Tobias Nölle zahlreiche Preise, darunter in Locarno einen Goldenen Leoparden für seinen Kurzfilm René. Nun kehrt der Schweizer Regisseur zurück zur Berlinale, wo sein jüngstes Werk im Panorama Weltpremiere feiert. Tristan Forever balanciert auf der Grenze zwischen Dokumentation, Fiktion, Erinnerung und Traum in seiner Erkundung der jahrzehntelangen Beziehung des Pariser Arztes Loran Bonnardot zur abgelegensten, dauerhaft bewohnten Insel der Welt. Dreißig Jahre lang zieht es Bonnardot immer wieder auf Tristan da Cunha im Südatlantik. Sein Entschluss, dort überzusiedeln, eröffnet Fragen nach Zugehörigkeit, Gemeinschaft, Ideal und Illusion. Im Gespräch mit Lidanoir auf der Berlinale berichtet Nölle von der Faszination von Menschen und Orten außerhalb der assimilierten Gesellschaft, den Dreharbeiten auf Tristan und der Grenze zwischen Realität und Fiktion.

Right after premiering her intimate feature film debut at Sundance in the U.S. Dramatic Commpetition, Liz Sargent presents Take Me Home at the Berlinale. Fictional, but very close to life, the story follows Anna and her aging parents as they navigate increasing challenges in their delicate balance of caregiving. On site at the festival, she reflects in conversation with Lidanoir on the personal nature of the story, centered on her own sister Anna Sargent, and discusses the commplexe challenges she faced during production and the emotional journeys that shaped the final cut.

For A Family, which looks at divorce through the eyes of a sister and her younger brother, putting their individual perspectives beside and opposite one another, director Mees Peijnenburg drew on his own experience of divorce as a kid. At the Berlinale, where his personal family drama debuts in the Generation section, the director and lead actress Carice van Houten open up about their collaboration, the universality they both see in this specific story, and the other chapters that didn't make it onto the screen.

Rising filmmaker Ryan Machado keeps his cinematic lens on challenging subjects. After exploring queerness through a bittersweet nostalgic lens in his previous feature film, Huling Palabas, which premiered in 2023 in Berlinale’s Generation section, the Philippine director returns to the festival with a visceral, tonally dark drama. Set in the 90s on a provincial Philippine island, Raging touches upon the taboo subject of sexual assault experienced by young men. Just before the festival closes, Machado takes time to talk with Lidanoir about the true events that fueled Raging, its creative risks, and why he believes audiences are ready for stories that confront raw, uncomfortable, but necessary subjects.

Mit Liebhaberinnen schaffen Regisseurin Koxi und Schauspielerin Johanna Wokalek ein zeitgenössisches Update Elfriede Jelineks gleichnamigen Romans um Sehnsucht nach Stabilität und Abhängigkeit, von gesellschaftlichen Zwängen, Selbstbestimmung und Selbstdarstellung. Auf der 76. Berlinale, wo ihre gesellschaftskritische Groteske im Forum Premiere feiert, sprechen die Regisseurin und ihre Hauptdarstellerin mit Lidanoir über die Zusammenarbeit, die Notwendigkeit authentischer Frauenfiguren auf der Leinwand sowie den Kontakt zu Jelinek und die Aktualität ihres Werks.

His previous feature Blaga's Lesson won Stephan Komandarev a Crystal Globe at Karlovy Vary as well as being selected as Bulgaria's entry for the Oscars, the third time the filmmaker received this recognition. His new drama draws on a real-life case to expose the human toll of inhumane working conditions and a ruthless globalized production market. Made in EU follows an exploited Bulgarian factory worker who becomes the target of public outrage and systematic scapegoating after being labeled "patient zero" during the Covid-19 pandemic. Before the theater opening of his film, Komandarev spoke with Lidanoir about the story's true foundations, shooting where the actual events took place, and making cinema with a social conscience.

Right after Sundance, where Olive Nwosu's gripping feature film debut premiered in World Cinema Dramatic Competition, the British-Nigerian filmmaker bring Lady to the Berlinale. Combining personal drama and social panorama with crime thriller elements, the plot follows a female taxi driver and her childhood friend through the nightly streets of Lagos, where painful memories and danger lurk. Amidst the festival bustle at Berlinale, Nwosu tells about Lady's realistic background, the challenges in bringing the story to the screen, authentic Nigerian cinema, and working with lead actress Jessica Gabriel's Ujah and the cast, who were recognized with the Special Jury Award for Acting at Sundance but not granted US visas.

Die 76. Berlinale ist vorbei und auf dem Potsdamer Platz ist wieder Ruhe eingekehrt. Als Abschluss haben sich unsere Kritiker*Innen Lida Bach und Jakob Jurisch zum Gespräch getroffen, um ihre Festivalerfahrungen zu rekapitulieren.

Sie sprechen über den aktuellen Stand der Berlinale, die kontroverse Pressekonferenz um Jury-Präsident Wim Wenders und natürlich über zahlreiche gesehene Filme.

Die im Podcast besprochenen Filme sind:

Eröffnungsfilm No Good Men von Shahrbanoo Sadat
Gelbe Briefe von Illkar Catak (Gewinner des Goldenen Bären)
Dao von Alain Gomis
Nightborn von Hanna Bergholm
Rosebush Pruning von Karim Ainouz
Salvation von Emin Alper (Gewinner des Silbernen Bären: Großer Preis der Jury)
Rose von Markus Schleinzer (Gewinner des Silbernen Bären: Beste Hauptrolle für Sandra Hüller)
We Are All Strangers von Anthony Chen
Meine Frau weint von Angela Schanelec
Josephine von Beth de Araújo

Wir wünschen viel Spaß beim Zuhören!